1879 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



349 



Wintering; Continued from May Number. 



CHAFF CUSHIONS, AND HOW TO MAKE 

 THEM. 



We make use of two thicknesses of these ; 

 a thin one to be used in the shallow Simpli- 

 city cover, and a thick one to be used in the 

 upper story, or in the story and a half cover, 

 for wintering. The two are made much in 

 the same way. You are to get a piece of 

 strong muslin, we use Indian Head brand, 

 fold it once, and sew up three sides. Before 

 closing the last side, they are to be filled 

 moderately full with chaff, making a sort of 

 chaff pillow, as it were. Now, if made in 

 the way I have indicated, there is an incon- 

 venient feature with these chaff cushions ; 

 the corners will stick out unhandily, and the 

 bulk of the chaff will constantly tend to 

 work into the middle. We want the cushion 

 to allow the chaff to come down into the 

 corners, and around the edges of the hive, 

 as much as possible, just as it would if you 

 packed the upper story full of chaff. To 

 allow of this, we want the cloth bag made 

 precisely in the form of a shallow box, and 

 we used to make them just like a box, hav- 

 ing a top and bottom of cloth, and a band of 

 the proper width, to unite the two. Well, 

 after making them in that way for some 

 time, a friend, whose name I have been un- 

 able to find, wrote us that by making them 

 like a pillow as described above, and then 

 pushing in the corners and sewing the sides 

 together so as to make seams crossing the 

 first seams at right angles, we could get the 

 square box form, with much less work. The 

 engravings below will, I think, show my 

 meaning. 



CHAFF CUSHIONS. 



The dotted lines will show where the 

 seams are. The smaller one, besides having 

 the box form, is quilted as you see through 

 the centre, to keep the chaff from slipping 

 out of place. This one, for convenience, we 

 usually tack into the Simplicity cover, so 



that when the cover is removed, the cushion 

 comes with it, facilitating both the removal, 

 and replacement of these useful pieces of 

 furniture in a bee hive. The cushions should 

 at all times be perfectly protected from wet 

 or dampness, for this very soon rots and de- 

 stroys the cloth. It is a very nice point to 

 have your cushion of just the right size, and 

 containing just the right amount of chaff. 

 Your best way will be to make one at a time, 

 saving a paper pattern of each, until you get 

 one that just "fits" and you can then, from 

 your paper pattern, make as many as you 

 wish and have them just right. 



After trying a great many kinds, I have 

 decided in favor of soft oat chaff. To get 

 it free from dirt and the harder portions, I 

 have had it run through a fanning mill, and 

 collected that portion which was blown far- 

 thest from the mill. This is soft and warm 

 to touch, and it is easy to imagine how bees, 

 mice, or any thing else, snugly tucked up in 

 it, might pass the winter dry, warm, and in 

 comfort. To Mr. J. H. Townley, of Tomp- 

 kins, Mich., I am indebted for the idea of 

 using chaff for a protection in wintering. 

 If he is not the original inventor, he is at 

 least entitled to the credit of bringing it 

 prominently before the public. It was du- 

 ring the month of Sept., 1875, when he so 

 strenuously insisted that I should try one 

 hive on his plan, that I could not well help 

 complying. The following are the directions 

 he gave me, taken from the Nov. No., of 

 Gleanings for that year. 



Make the box water tight, so that no water can 

 get in from outside, and large enough to give you a 

 space of three or more inches between hive and box, 

 on all sides and top of hive. Arrange the entrance 

 so that it cannot get clogged with dead bees (old bees 

 will die, no danger of ice), take off top board or cov- 

 er, put two sticks an inch apart across the centre of 

 frames for winter passage, cover with cloth or mat 

 (we use old worn out grain sacks cut in pieces of 

 suitable size), pack the space snugly with dry wheat 

 chaff or finely cut straw (sawdust is not good), and 

 leave them there till fruit blossoms next year, or 

 longer. On some cold freezing morning next April 

 open this hive and notice the difference between it 

 and those outside. See how warm it is, how nicely 

 the bees are spread over the combs in all parts of 

 the hive, while in hives outside, they are packed in 

 a snug, compact, winter cluster, with more or less 

 dead bees outside of the cluster, killed by the cold. 

 We now have 60 stocks snugly packed in boxes, all 

 ready for winter, where we shall leave them, with 

 but little care and no anxiety for the next seven or 

 eight months. We are so well pleased with our suc- 

 cess in wintering and springing bees in these boxes 

 for three seasons past, that we shall continue it un- 

 til we do meet with disaster. 



Friend Novice, please pack one hive away as 

 above described, now, and give it a fair, impartial 

 trial and oblige, Yours truly, J. H. Townley. 



Tompkins, Mich., Sept. 22, '75. 



